


Sugar under the summer sun

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, lance has bad taste in sunglasses but great taste in cute boys, meet cute, poor matt, side pairing: hidge, side pairing: sheith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-12 22:46:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13557201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Matt's car is a piece of crap, he broke his laptop, and the heat on the side of the road is hellacious. He's got to have the worst luck of any human. But is it possible to have so much bad luck it circles back to good? Perhaps in the form of a stranger who might actually be good looking under the world's worst sunglasses?Or, Lance can't help but feel bad for the poor cute guy he sees on the side of road with the smoldering junker almost every day on his walk home from work. Now if only he could work up the courage to talk to him...





	1. Chapter 1

Not for the first time, Matt swore under his breath at his piece of crap car. It rumbled to a stop on the shoulder, smoke spilling out of the hood. He put his emergency flashers on and pulled the lever to pop the hood open, causing even more smoke to billow out. Sitting in the sweltering rust bucket, he laid his head on the steering wheel, praying for the damn thing to just explode already. After taking a few moments to wallow in self-pity, he got out and went to assess the damage. 

 

The smoke had stopped erupting from the engine at least, and was more just puffing. He was able to pull his collar up over his nose and mouth and take a look inside. Nothing appeared to be irreparably fused, but he’d burned a lot of oil and the engine would need time to cool off. The sun was beating down on him and the thick, humid air was doing nothing to aid his situation. He sat on the curb and pulled out his phone to text his sister.  _ I’m gonna be late, car overheated again _ he sent with a sigh. 

 

Deciding to make the most out of the unexpected block of time he couldn’t do much of anything with, he grabbed his laptop out of the car and opened up the only word document on the desktop, saved as pleaseendmysuffering.docx. 

 

“Remote Sensing of Tectonic Activity on Pluto” stood out on the front page in big bold letters. Slightly below it, “A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Department Of Planetary Sciences In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy” It looked horrible and sounded stupid, but that was what his advisor had made him put. Over the past two years he’d collected more than enough data, but compiling it and analyzing it and making some kind of statement or conclusion about it was proving much more difficult than he’d hoped. Turns out “Yup, there’s an ocean. It’s cold. Freezing makes stuff move.” wasn’t quite good enough scientific analysis for the university to hand him a doctorate. 

 

Just as he was getting on a real roll adding in a lot of words that didn’t have a lot of meaning but made him sound extra smart, some asshat drove by and tossed a fast food bag out of the window of his car and knocked the computer off of Matt’s lap and onto the curb. It hit at just the right angle to completely destroy the hinge and rip the monitor off. Matt didn’t scream, or cry, or punch anything. He held his head in his hands and counted slowly to 10. Shiro would be proud of him. 

 

He picked up as many pieces as he could and stuffed them into his backpack. He threw it into his trunk and got out the small funnel and large container of oil that he unfortunately had to keep in there at all times. Not even bothering to check the dipstick, he poured the oil in for a several seconds, figured it was good enough, and slammed the hood shut. As he was depositing the oil and funnel back into his trunk, he couldn’t help but notice a man looking over at him from the sidewalk. He was tall and lean, with gorgeous sun-kissed skin and very stylishly dressed. Matt couldn't help but toss him an appreciative glance.

 

He would have been super hot, but for one glaring flaw: Who the hell wears  _ white oakley’s  _ on purpose? Matt shook his head and got back in his car. Mercifully, it roared back to life and he was able to head home. 

 

Pulling into his mother's driveway with a sigh of relief, Matt killed the abused engine and grabbed his backpack before heading inside. “Piiiidge!” He whined as soon as he stepped inside. He heard a muffled “Don't call me that!” from the kitchen and poked his head inside. 

 

Dropping his bag in the doorway, he pressed a quick kiss to his mother's cheek as he she smiled at him in greeting before going back to stirring the sauce she had simmering on the stove top. “Sorry, sorry.” Matt said and bowed low. “Katherine the Great!” Katie giggled at his antics. “My computer is broken and if I can't get my dissertation off of it, I'm going to launch myself to Pluto and freeze to death there.” She shook her head and stuck out her hands. 

 

“Ok, drama queen. Let me see the damage.” He went back and grabbed the pieces, placing them in her hands. “Holy crow! Seriously, what the heck did you do?” Matt sheepishly muttered the whole story to her in as little detail as possible. She brought the pieces back to her bedroom and promised to take a look after dinner. 

 

After a great meal with his family and a promise that he'd have at the very least the data from his mangled laptop by tomorrow afternoon, Matt's spirits were a little higher when he got back to the small apartment he shared with his best friend. Shiro could still tell as soon as he walked in the door that something was amiss, though. “You ok, man?” He asked from his spot on the couch. 

 

Matt flopped down next to him with an exaggerated moan. It never helped to keep things from Shiro, he always found out the truth anyway. “Dad's business trip got extended by another 2 months. Mom's trying to keep it together and help Pidge with all the wedding stuff, but she's a time bomb. And my stupid car broke down again and I broke my stupid laptop and I'm glad Pluto isn't a planet anymore, I hate it.” He dropped his arm over his eyes and took a few slow, measured breaths. 

 

Shiro patted him comfortingly on the knee. “That sounds awful, Matt. I'm sorry.” The concern in his voice was so genuine it warmed Matt's heart. He was pretty lucky, all things considered. “If you're worried about the car, though, I'm sure Keith would drop you off at school. It's really close to his work.” He wasn't  _ that  _ lucky. 

 

Sitting up properly, Matt turned to look Shiro in the eye. “Shiro, I love you like you're my own brother and I'm so happy that you found Keith, truly I am. You guys are sickenly cute together and it's great.” He took a deep breath as he regarded Shiro's amused smile. “However, I will NOT be getting on your crazy boyfriend's deathtrap of a motorcycle ever EVER again.” Shiro chuckled. 

 

“I don't know what you're talking about, Keith is a great driver.” Matt nodded and sucked air in between his clenched teeth. “Yeah, no. Don't get me wrong, I never doubted the control he had over the bike, it was the weaving in and out of traffic and the sheer  _ velocity _ I had a problem with.” He shuddered at the memory. “As much as stuff sucks right now, I don't actually want to die in a fiery explosion on the highway.” Shiro laughed again. “Well the offer stands.” He patted Matt's knee again before getting up and heading off to bed. Matt hoped his stupid car could hold out through the summer so he wouldn't have to resort to  _ that. _

 

..

 

Not for the first time, Lance honestly considered blowing a kiss up to the heavens to thank his lucky stars. Everything had been going great lately. His 4 years of waiting tables and tending bar to drag his butt through his degree had paid off in spades. He was one of the very few people he knew who had been able to score a pretty decent job right after graduation, and he'd just deposited his third paycheck. 

 

The work was amazing, too. He'd clearly picked the right field. All of his co-workers were great, and he'd managed to secure a brand new client for the small marketing firm to represent and his boss was beyond pleased with his performance. He'd gotten himself small but fun “rewards” with his first two big kid checks, and decided to splurge for this one. 

 

Never in his life had he thought he'd be able to drop $250 on a pair of sunglasses, but he'd been eyeing these babies for months. The frame was a brilliant, bright white and the lenses themselves were a reflective blue gradient. They were the coolest pair of shades he'd ever seen. He felt like a king as he strolled down the sidewalk, practicing his Best Man speech in his head. His best friend's wedding wasn't until next spring, but it never hurt to be prepared. 

 

He heard something thud, a grunt, and what sounded like something expensive crunching as it hit the ground. He looked over to where a rusty, beat up, smokey car was sitting parked on the shoulder and saw the young man sitting on the sweltering curb with his head in his hands, mangled computer in pieces on the asphalt at his feet. He cringed in sympathy. 

 

The man stood up and Lance blushed. He was actually pretty cute, if a bit dorky for his usual taste. Lance knew absolutely nothing about cars, or he would have immediately run up to help as he saw the man pouring oil into the still slightly smoldering vehicle. He was no mechanic, but he was pretty sure it was  _ not _ supposed to do that. 

 

Lance watched as he slumped back to the trunk of his car to put away his things. He looked… sad. And very pink. And super sweaty. It was almost a hundred degrees outside and there's no telling how long he'd been sitting there before his computer fell. Lance found himself wishing he'd had a bottle of water or something to go give the poor guy. Plus it would be a great ice breaker; Disheveled as he was, he was still quite a hottie. As he made his way back to the driver's side, Lance was pretty sure the guy stopped to check him out for a second. He blushed and smiled wide, wracking his brain for something to say to him. 

 

Before he could come up with a good opening line, the handsome stranger had already gotten in his car and driven off. 


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later found Lance still in a chipper mood despite the absolutely sorching July sun. He was whistling and halfway dancing as he walked down the street, humming a song under his breath. “Hello there, beautiful.” He lowered his sunglasses to the tip of his nose and winked at a gorgeous young lady walking the opposite direction. She covered her mouth with a hand and giggled, but didn't stop to chat.

 

Not deterred in the slightest, he carried on his way home. His blazer was sticking to his arms in weird spots thanks to the unforgiving heat blasting down from on high. He pushed the sleeves up and grimaced for a moment thinking about his dry cleaning bill before snapping back to his good mood. Picking up the song where he left off, he dance-walked in peace for a few blocks before he passed a very familiar looking car on the side of the road. 

 

Lance peered down his sunglasses as he saw the same guy from the other day leaning up against the car, his back to the sidewalk. He was on the phone with someone and the conversation didn't appear to be going well, based on all the agitated arm movements he was making. Lance always found it cute when people talked with their hands. It showed passion. He spent a long moment appreciating the sight and working himself up to go say something. 

 

Once again, before Lance could make his move, his chance was ripped away. A skinny guy rolled up on a motorcycle and handed Hottie a helmet without saying a word. The poor guy looked petrified, but his car was absolutely oozing smoke and it was way too hot out to be sitting on the side of the road. 

 

Lance couldn't help but notice the lack of intimacy with his companion in the way he sat on the bike. There were several inches of space between their bodies on the seat and he held firmly to the driver's shoulders instead of around his waist. That meant they probably weren't dating. Lance smiled, that meant he still had a chance with his mystery man. He grinned. 

 

His grin immediately faltered as the guy took off into traffic like a bat out of hell. No wonder Hottie looked scared. They were definitely going to die. He ruminated on it for a few blocks, but it was Friday night and he was feeling very distractible. He whistled and hummed and winked at cute passersby all the way home, temporarily forgetting to mourn the inevitable doom of Car Trouble Guy. 

 

Hunk was already at their apartment and started on making dinner when Lance walked in. “Hoooney, I'm hoooome!” He called as he dropped his messenger bag by the door. He heard Hunk and Pidge laughing from the kitchen. 

 

“Uh oh, nobody told me I had to share tonight! You better be up for some B-list horror and nachos, Kate.” He grumbled as he pulled a beer from the fridge. She rolled her eyes. “I know you know my name. And I'm looking forward to watching you squeal like a little pig, you big baby.” She rolled her eyes from her spot up on the counter and shoved at his back with her foot. Hunk smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

 

“Hey, watch it, missy!” Lance groused, but smiled at her. They picked on each other constantly, but Lance couldn't have imagined a better match for his best friend and he loved having her around. He topped off her glass of wine and poured one for Hunk. “So when's show time?” 

 

Hunk grinned. “Ok, check this out!” He moved away from the counter and held his hands out at the delectable pile of food. “7 layers of extreme nacho goodness! We got beef, we got pork, we got beans, we got jalapenos, and 3 different types of beautiful, melty, amazing cheese! As soon as this work of art is melty and crispy, the show may begin.” He pressed his thumb and fingers to his lips and kissed them with an exaggerated muah. 

 

Lance felt his mouth start to water. “You've really outdone yourself, man. This looks amazing!” Hunk slapped his hand away from sneaking a bite. “I know, I know. Do go on.” He teased as he put the entire ensemble into the oven. Katie hopped down from the counter. “I'll be right back, gotta call Mom real quick.” She said, pulling out her phone and stepping outside. 

 

Hunk looked over at Lance as he leaned against the counter, sipping his beer. “So, did you get to see your hot, broken car guy today?” He asked Lance, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Oh man! I completely forgot!” Lance said, raising his arms up. “I totally did! And you can forget all of those baby names we picked out, because I'm pretty sure he's dead now.” Hunk looked up at him in surprise. 

 

“What? Did his car actually explode or something?” Lance shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I was gearing myself up to go talk to him. You know, working on that first impression.” He blew a kiss to no one and winked. Hunk nodded to spur him on. “So as I walk over, he gets on this motorcycle with this kid and they take off super fast. The guy was like dodging and weaving and riding in between the traffic lanes.” Hunk's eyes went wide. “Well, that sucks, man. He's totally toast.” Lance nodded and sighed sadly. “At least I'll always have you, Heineken.” He kissed the side of the bottle. 

 

Katie walked back in and laughed. “What are you doing, weirdo?” Lance look at her in mock indignation. “Mourning the death of my previous future husband, duh.” Katie raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. She turned toward Hunk. “Well, I think you should be celebrating the birth of this amazing culinary creation of my  _ current _ future husband.” She chuckled, standing on tiptoes to press a soft kiss to Hunk's lips. “Seconded!” He grinned down at her. 

 

Lance looked at the pair with a bittersweet smile on his face. Hunk was his best friend in the world, and he knew that Katie was great for him. He was thrilled for them. But…

 

He was kind of lonely. Sure, he had plenty of friends, work was going great, his family was awesome, and he was generally a genuinely happy guy, but when he looked at them… yeah that would be nice. He had hope, though. His mom always told him that his special someone was out there, and he just had to have faith that they'd come along right when he least expected them. In the meantime, he was gonna eat a boat load of nachos and spend the evening having a blast with his friends. 

 

..

 

Matt was not proud of his reaction to his car breaking down yet again. He immediately screamed all of the curse words he knew and slammed his fists repeatedly into the steering wheel. Luckily the horn had been broken for years, so only people close enough to his car to hear his muffled shouting saw his minor breakdown. He grabbed his backpack and got out of the car, fuming mad. The asshole freshmen he TAed for during the summer session had grated on his nerves all day, and his advisor had ripped several sections of his dissertation to shreds, and it was  _ too fucking hot  _ outside for this. 

 

He leaned his head against the side of his passenger door from the sidewalk and pulled out his phone. Shiro had just gotten a fancy bluetooth-enabled helmet for Keith for their anniversary, so he picked up right away. Matt grumpily explained his situation and where he was. Thankfully, Keith was nearby and already on the way to the apartment, so Matt only had a few minutes to spend contemplating his mortality while waiting. 

 

He spied a familiar set of garish, white sunglasses watching him from the sidewalk as he swung his leg over Keith’s motorcycle. He didn’t have long to spend processing that information, because as soon as his hands were on Keith’s shoulders, he sped off into traffic and all of Matt’s brain power was being devoted to holding on tightly and not throwing up. 

 

The ride was only 15 minutes, but they were some of the longest of Matt’s life. When they got back to the apartment, Shiro was sitting on the couch reading. Matt turned to Keith before the inevitable distraction could occur. “Hey, thanks again for the lift, man.” Keith grunted out a dismissive, “sure, no problem.” Matt coughed into his hand. “I hate to ask, but I was wondering if I could get a ride back to my car in the morning?” 

 

Keith tore his eyes away from where they were boring holes into Shiro’s. “Oh. Yeah. I’ll probably leave around 8.” Matt nodded and muttered another quick thank you. He disappeared into his room before he was forced to bear witness to the desecration of the couch. Muttering out his gratitude to every deity he could think of for his continued survival despite repeatedly tempting fate by riding with Keith, he fell into bed and slept away the day’s frustration.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for non-US readers: 7-eleven is a gas station and/or convenience store and their frozen diabetes drinks are way better than Icees, I will fight anyone over that.

_ Statistically speaking _ , Matt thought to himself,  _ at some point my luck has to stop sucking so much ass. _ He got out of his car on the side of the road, again. Opening the hood at least vented some of the smoke and let the abused engine cool off a little bit. Or at least as much as it could, given the ambient temperature of approximately 4 fucktillion degrees. 

 

All Matt wanted to do was go home and sleep. It was only Wednesday but this week alone already felt like it had taken at least 6 months. He took a steadying breath. His car was mostly fine when it wasn’t so hot outside, so he just had to get through the rest of July and August, and things would be better when it cooled off in September. 

 

But for now, Matt pulled out his phone and dialed Keith’s number again. It rang several times before the voicemail kicked in. He was probably working late, Matt realized with a frown. Shiro worked on the complete opposite side of town so it would take him forever to get here, so he was Matt's last resort. He could always call his mom, she was usually back from her lab by now, but he didn't want her worrying about him.

 

He finally decided to call Katie and she picked up after a few rings. “Hey, nerd. What’s up?” He chuckled at her greeting. “Hey, my car is busted again, is there any way you could come give me a lift? It’s hotter than hell out today and I’m melting.” He closed his eyes and prayed she wasn’t working tonight and already gone. “Oh sure, I was about to head to Hunk’s anyway. Text the address and I’ll swing by on the way. You going to mom’s or back to your place?” He frowned. He should stop in and see his mom, especially with his dad still away for work.

 

Plus, he wouldn’t have to watch Keith and Shiro strain any muscles trying not to make out in front of him all evening. 

 

“I should hang out with mom tonight, keep an eye on her.” He finally replied. “Ok, I need a few more minutes to get ready but I’ll head out to rescue you soon.” She chirped good-naturedly. “Thanks, sis, you’re a lifesaver.” She chuckled. “I know! See ya in few!” He said goodbye and hung up. At least he could always count on her to be there for him. 

 

He leaned his back up against the passenger side of the car and decided to do some people-watching as he waited. It was a fairly diverse gamut of passersby, some business people on the way home from work, some kids wandering around after school, some obvious tourists with very poor taste in travel destinations. His favorite, and most unexpected sight, however, was Tacky Sunglasses Guy. Matt smiled at him as he approached, grinning and holding two giant slurpees. Maybe his luck wasn’t so bad after all. 

 

..

 

A lot of people would call Lance immature for a lot of reasons. He preferred to think of himself as always ready to embrace his inner child and live life to the fullest. He tried to never take himself too seriously and always find joy in the small things that really make life worth living. That’s why his favorite day wasn’t Christmas, or Halloween, or even his birthday. No, Lance’s favorite day was July 11th. 

 

Because, you see, July 11th was free slurpee day at 7-eleven.  

 

And July 11th would also be the day that he finally,  _ finally _ talked to Car Trouble Guy. He could feel it in his bones. That was why he filled his own cup with a mixture of all the flavors, because who could pick just one, honestly? And the other he filled with with classic blue raspberry. Everyone likes blue raspberry, right? If he didn’t like blue raspberry it was probably a sign that they just weren’t meant to be. 

 

Receiving his free slurpee and paying for the second, he tried to walk calmly to the block where he usually saw Car Trouble Guy, but his pace might have been a little less than sedate. He’d worked out an entire monologue for their first meeting, complete with winks and seductive straw placement. All of that flew out the window as he rounded the corner and saw the man standing there, leaning against his car and surveying the crowd. He started to make his approach, trying to look as friendly as possible.  

 

When their eyes met, the man smiled at him and Lance’s heart started hammering in his chest.  _ Be cool, Lance, you got this _ . He mentally psyched himself up as he walked over, stopping just within arms reach of the man. Suddenly he felt like he couldn’t remember a single word of the English language, and thrust the blue slurpee out towards him. “You looked really hot so I got this for you.” Realizing immediately how that came out, he blushed. The man gave him an amused smile, but took the offered drink. 

 

“I’ve gotta say, this is definitely a first.” Matt said with a chuckle, taking a sip of the blessedly cool, syrupy drink. He sighed with temporary relief from the blistering heat. “Thanks, though, that was really nice of you.” Lance cleared his throat, determined to power through the initial flub. “Uh… yeah, yeah no problem.” He could have sworn that at some point in his life he'd actually been relatively suave, but he couldn't recall quite how. 

 

Matt looked up at him through his shaggy bangs. “Nice sunglasses.” He said, eyes glinting. Lance detected more than a hint of sarcasm and lifted an eyebrow. “Hey, don't hate. These shades are amazing.” Matt chuckled. “Yeah about as amazing as my car, I'd say.” Lance put his hands on his hips and frowned. Just who did this nerd think he was? 

 

“Sorry, sorry.” Matt said at his offended stance, laughing. “They're fine. You pull them off, it's a good look.” Lance crossed his arms, cradling his drink against his side. “See, that sounded like a compliment but I still get the distinct impression that you're making fun of me.” He couldn't keep the smile off his face. 

 

Matt laughed again. Lance was beginning to really enjoy the sound. “Well that's the furthest thing from my intention.” Matt began, cocky grin replacing his smile. “Why don't you let me make it up to you? Maybe over dinner?” Lance faltered. Damn, this guy was smooth. 

 

“Hmm, as long as you're not driving, I guess.” Lance replied as nonchalantly as he could manage with his heart threatening to leap out of his throat. Matt laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that's… that's completely fair. I'm Matt, by the way.” Lance smiled and stuck out his hand. “Lance.” They shook hands and regarded each other awkwardly for a moment as they sipped on their drinks. 

 

Matt pulled out his phone. “Forgive me if this is presumptuous, but,” He handed the phone over with the new contact screen up. In the name field he'd typed Lance's name, followed by an emoji of some sunglasses. Lance grinned and typed the number in. “Cool.” Matt said somewhat breathlessly as Lance handed it back. 

 

“I gotta run, but don't think I don't know where to find you if you don't text me about that dinner.” Lance pointed at him accusatorially. Matt smiled. “Wouldn't dream of it.” Lance smiled back and waved as he headed down the street. 

 

Matt's cheeks hurt from smiling down at his phone by the time Katie arrived to rescue him a few minutes later. Lance had added the winking kissy face emoji after the sunglasses. 

 

He pulled himself up into Katie's Jeep with exaggerated praise and gratitude. “You're being weird.” She accused. “You're way too happy right now.” He laughed and shrugged. “Just in a good mood is all.” She gave him a suspicious eyebrow, but decided to drop it for now. 

 

Matt warred with himself for hours about what to text Lance. His mom had even commented on how distracted he seemed all evening, but he couldn't bring himself to explain the situation to her. Eventually she dropped him back off at his car, frowning as he checked the oil and poured several ounces inside. “We’re having a long talk about this car over the weekend, Matthew.” She chided as she placed a kiss to his forehead. He blushed. “Alright, alright. Thanks for the lift, mom.” She shook her head at his red cheeks and waved as she walked back to her car. “Give Shiro my love and tell him to come over for dinner some time.” Matt smiled. “Will do! Love you!” He called as he headed back to his apartment.

 

Keith was fast asleep on Shiro’s shoulder on the couch when he got home, so he tiptoed to his room and stared at his phone again. 

 

After way too much deliberation, he decided to go with Occam's razor. The simplest option was usually the one that yielded the best results. “Hey this is Matt. What's your schedule like on Friday?” He stared at the screen for several minutes before finally hitting send. 

 

“For you? It's as wide open as my arms ;)” Matt blinked down at his phone, rereading the reply several times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He couldn't help the near-cackle he let out. “Seriously though, I'm usually home from work by 6. Did you have somewhere in mind?” Desperately working to contain his inner 14 year old girl, Matt absolutely did not squeal. 

 

“Have you ever been to Sal’s? It’s close to the pier, we could go for a walk after?” It wasn’t the fanciest of dates, but Sal’s was great even if there was never a place to sit down and they’d probably have to take it to go. There were plenty of picnic tables on the beach. “[thumbs up emojis] loooove Sal’s. I’ll pick you up around 7?” The response came almost instantly. Matt agreed and sent his address, wide grin plastered on his face until he fell asleep. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ao3 really hates emojis rip


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there is going to be 1 chapter after this one, but I might be wrong. We'll see. I'm having a lot of fun with this fic. 
> 
> Additional funny story, I was going out to lunch with a friend of mine one day (this was over a year ago) and he walked around to open his passenger side door for me. I was very confused, and he turned to me and said, and I will never forget these words, "No homo, bro. My lock's busted." 
> 
> I couldn't help but include a modified version of that here.

Matt’s car didn’t break down that Friday, but it was a near thing. All those prayers to all of those deities must have paid off, he decided. He rolled into the apartment complex’s parking lot at a completely reasonable 4 miles per hour. He actually moved his backpack from the back seat to the passenger seat and was leaning forward as much as possible to preserve the forward momentum so that he had a hope of coasting into a parking spot somewhat near his apartment. 

 

He ended up parking completely crooked in two spots, but he figured he could have Keith pull his bike into the spot with more room in it so he didn’t look like as much of an asshole. His dashboard clock wasn’t even right twice a day, as it seemed to switch time zones at random, so he pulled out his phone to see how quickly he needed to rush to get ready for his date with Lance. 6:22pm, it read. Plenty of time, probably. 

 

The first thing he did upon walking into the apartment was ignore Shiro and Keith’s knowing grins and head to the bathroom for a shower. An unintentional hour long commute in a shitty, ancient Taurus with no air conditioning did not leave him smelling particularly first-date ready. After the shower, he just had to throw on some clothes that looked halfway decent and he'd be ready to go. 

 

So of course Lance showed up a few minutes early while Matt was still panicking over what to wear. 

 

Shiro answered the door and explained that Matt would be a few minutes and he was welcome to wait inside. He made small talk with Lance as Keith eyed him suspiciously. Lance returned Keith's curious look with a raised eyebrow. Shiro offered up a flimsy excuse to pull Keith into the kitchen. 

 

“Why are you side eyeing Matt's date so hard?” He whispered, confused. “There's something about that guy… he seems so familiar, I just can't place it.” Keith muttered, turning back to look at him. Shiro grabbed his chin gently and pulled it back to face him. “I really don't want to weird him out, Matt's been really excited about this. Maybe we can keep the staring to a minimum?” He asked with pleading eyes. 

 

Keith nodded. “Sorry, I'll try. I just know I've seen him somewhere before and it's driving me crazy.“ Shiro smiled at him and pulled him close. “Well how about I distract you?” He whispered teasingly with his mouth just millimeters from Keith's. Keith smirked. “Yeah that would do it.” He replied. 

 

Lance stood in the hallway, in plain view of the kitchen, and tried to ignore whatever it was that was going on there. It was easier said than done. 

 

After a few more of some of the oddest minutes of Lance's life, Matt finally emerged from his room fully dressed and ready to go.  “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He risked a glance to where Lance was looking, partially amused and partially horrified, at the kitchen. Keith had backed Shiro up into the fridge, and while they weren't kissing or even really touching each other, their faces were extremely close together. Keith was whispering something very low and Shiro's cheeks were redder than Keith's shirt. It looked like they might be having some kind of staring contest. “And also, sorry you have to see… that.” He tugged on Lance's sleeve and motioned towards the door. 

 

Once they were safely outside, Lance cleared his throat. “Don't take this the wrong way, but your roommates are super weird.” Matt laughed and nodded. “Actually, only the big guy, Shiro, is my roommate. He and Keith are pretty attached at the hip, though. If I hadn't known Shiro before they started dating, I might have assumed it was some kind of Siamese twin situation. And they are very, very weird.” Lance responded with a laugh of his own. “Yeah, my roommate is the same way. His fiance practically lives at our house these days. They don't ever do... whatever that was, though.” Matt cringed.  

 

They made their way through the parking lot to Lance's car, where he walked around to open the door for Matt. “Wow, such a gentleman!” Matt said, smiling wide at him. “Yup, that's me. Complete Gentleman. Also my automatic locks are broken, so…” They shared another laugh as Matt got in. 

 

Matt tried to come up with something to say that wasn't boring small talk, but eventually the awkward silence got the best of him. “So uh… what do you for a living?” He asked. Lance smiled and gave him a quick glance before looking back at the road. “Oh, I'm the reason people have VPNs.” He replied smugly. 

 

Matt stared at him in stunned silence. The sunglasses really should have tipped him off.  _ This guy probably works in IT and thinks he's some kind l33t haxor. Ugh. I wonder if Shiro would come pick me up if I got out at the next red light. _ He thought to himself, looking out of the window to see if he'd have an escape opportunity any time soon. Realizing he hadn't actually responded, Matt cleared his throat. “Oh, uh… do you work on computers then?” 

 

Lance made a pained face, clearly trying not to laugh at his own joke. “No, not really. I'm in marketing.” Matt blinked as Lance did eventually start laughing. “No, get it? Because corporations spy on your internet data to sell stuff to you better?” Matt sat in stunned silence for a moment before busting out laughing. “Oh thank god,” He wheezed in between laughs. “It… it wasn't that funny.” Lance looked over at him, concerned. 

 

“No, no… I mean yeah, it was pretty funny.” Matt sat back up from where he had doubled over. “But I thought you were like… somehow the one mythical hot neckbeard-4chan guy.” He'd calmed down to giggles by the time Lance pulled into the public parking lot. “So you think I'm hot then?” Lance wiggled his eyebrows and Matt rolled his eyes and blushed. “Obviously, why else would I have accepted a drink from a random stranger? Risk-reward, dude.” Lance nodded. “Touche, touche.” 

 

They made their way from the parking lot to the sidewalk along the beach in companionable silence for a few moments before Lance spoke up. “So uh, how about you? I noticed you always have a backpack, are you a student?” Matt smiled at him and nodded. “Yup. Halfway through my PhD in astro-geology.” Lance stopped short and stared at him. “What?! That's so cool!” Matt chuckled awkwardly. 

 

“It's a lot less cool than it sounds. Mostly it's just a lot of math.” Lance nodded, eyes wide and enthralled. “So what's your project or whatever?” Matt sighed. “It's about analyzing tectonic activity on Pluto.” Lance made an incredulous noise. “Pluto! That's nuts! How do you even see anything that far out?” 

 

It was a perfect opportunity to get Lance back for his dumb joke about his work, and Matt took it. “Oh, standard space program stuff. Mostly we use a combination of data taken from New Horizons, Hubble, and Bofa.” Lance nodded along as he spoke. “Wait, what's Bofa?” Matt smirked at him as soon as the words left his mouth. Lance facepalmed. “God damn it. Ok, I deserved that.” They both laughed and made small talk the rest of the way to Sal's. 

 

It was a small building just on the edge of the beach. There were only 6 tables and a bar and Matt had never once seen a single spot available to sit down inside, tonight being no exception. Everyone loved Sal's. Lance was on his tiptoes in the sand, using Matt's shoulder to steady himself. “I think there's a table up on the pier that's free.” He said, squinting. “Nice! I'll grab the food if you wanna go save it for us?” Lance nodded. “Ok, grab me a jerk chicken wrap and fries.” Matt smiled and nodded as Lance took off for the pier. 

 

There isn't really a graceful way to jog on loose sand, but somehow Lance's mile-long legs made it work. Matt felt a little guilty for how long it took him to pull his gaze away to go place their order. 20 minutes later, two jerk chicken wraps and a large order of fries in hand, Matt sat down at the waterside picnic table Lance had scored for them. 

 

They made small talk and joked around as they ate, and at one point ended up throwing fries at each other in an attempt to catch them in their mouths. It was going pretty well until the world's dumbest seagull dove for a fry and ended up slamming into the side of Matt's head. He brushed it off and they laughed about it, deciding to go for a walk along the pier to avoid anymore bird bombs. 

 

“Oh! You have to take a picture of me with the lobster! I always forget!” Lance cried as they made their way to the larger section at the end of the pier. There was a 4-foot tall ceramic lobster with an extremely troubling expression on its face that the tourists all stayed well clear of. Lance handed Matt his phone and knelt down, throwing up a peace sign. Matt had to back up to the railing to get the full majesty of the lobster in view. 

 

Just as he snapped the photo and was about to walk over to show it to Lance, two assholes on jet skis completely ignored the “no wake zone” area around the pier and turned sharply, completely soaking Matt's entire back. Lance covered his mouth with his hand as he walked up to his now-dripping date. "Dude are you cursed?" He said with a laugh. Matt sighed. 

 

“Yeah, apparently I am. At least your phone didn't get wet.” He tried to plaster a smile on his face as he held the phone out. “Actually, hold on to that for a minute.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his keys and wallet, shoving them into Matt's hands as well. “These too.” He kicked his shoes off and neatly leapt over the railing, plunging into the water about a foot below. 

 

Matt laughed so hard he almost dropped Lance's things as he dipped back up from under the gentle waves. He climbed up the side of the pier and slipped his shoes back on. Matt stared at him in disbelief. Lance grinned. “There! Now it looks like we went swimming or something.” Lance took an involuntary step back as Matt threw his arms around his shoulders. He returned the hug after only a moment's hesitation with a faint blush and a broad smile. 

 

“You're a really great guy, Lance.” Matt said quietly as he pulled back from their soggy hug, hands lingering on his dripping shirt. Lance's blush deepened and he leaned his head in close. Matt tilted his chin just a fraction and let his eyes slide shut. 

 

Before they were able to close the gap, an enraged voice behind them called out, “Hey you punks, the sign says ‘No Diving’!” They both spun toward the source of the voice to see an angry-looking, middle aged man with a rent-a-cop  _ boardwalk law enforcement _ uniform on. Matt faltered and was about to apologize, but Lance beat him to the draw. “Oh, sorry. I can't read.” He said cheerfully. The man stared at him in confusion. 

 

Lance grabbed Matt's hand and they quickly made their way back down to the beach, away from the angry fake cop. Matt stopped and shook his head, quietly laughing. “Ok, for real. How often does that actually work?” Lance smiled. “Uh, only every single time! They have no idea what to say and by the time they realize what a dumb lie it is, I'm already gone.” They both laughed hard and leaned against each other on the sand. Neither of them had dropped the other's hand after their daring escape.

 

Tamping down the butterflies that were building in his stomach, Matt looked up at him with a good impression of a serious face. “You can actually read, though, right?” Lance laughed and scoffed, pretending to be offended. “Uh yeah! In two languages, even! I have a bachelor's degree!” Matt eyed him suspiciously and chuckled. “Hmm… I don't know… I might need some proof.” Lance laughed and bumped their shoulders together. 

 

He turned to look at Matt and offer another smart aleck remark, but noticed the beautiful sunset behind him. It made his shaggy, honey-colored hair glow a soft gold and brought out the amber in his hazel eyes. He blushed under the sudden scrutiny. “Do I have something on my face?” Lance smiled, narrowly resisting the urge to say something corny like  _ just beauty, baby. _

 

“No, it's just… let's take a picture.” Matt chuckled but murmured out his acquiescence. Lance pulled out his phone and moved to stand behind Matt, hooking his chin over Matt's shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. They both smiled wide for the camera, and the picture turned out great. The setting sun over the pier was an incredible backdrop. 

 

They walked and talked along the beach, still holding hands, for quite a while. Lance made the excuse that they should at least try to mostly air dry so they wouldn't soak the upholstery in his car, but really he was having too much fun for the night to be over so soon. Eventually the sun finished setting and the lights in all the little seaside shops began to twinkle out. Matt yawned mid-sentence a few times. 

 

“Alright, clearly I've worn you out, you look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet.” Lance said with a smile. Matt scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. “It's just been a really long week, is all.” Lance nodded. “No, it's cool. I get it. Let's head back.” Matt didn't offer up any argument, just let Lance guide him back along the beach, up to the sidewalk, and over to where they'd parked hours before. 

 

Lance unlocked and pulled Matt's door open for him again, and they shared a small, private smile at Matt's exaggerated thanks. The drive back to Matt's was quiet, both men were lost in their own heads. Lance pulled to a stop in front of Matt's building. 

 

“Do you… is it ok if I walk you to your door?” Lance's cheeks took on a faint red glow. Matt smiled. “Sure.” They both got out and Lance took Matt's hand again. Neither of them said anything, but the tension building between them as they approached the apartment was palpable. 

 

Finally stopping in front of his door, Matt turned toward Lance. “I uh… had a really great time tonight.” Matt swallowed hard and looked up at him. Lance smiled. “Me too.” It came out barely above a whisper. Lance reached up and pushed a few stray locks of hair out of Matt's eyes. 

 

They both leaned in, and neither of them could have said who finally made contact. Their lips met softly at first, until Lance took another step forward and tilted Matt's head in his hands. Matt scrabbled for purchase at the shift of weight and ended up with one arm wrapped around Lance's back and the other in his hair. 

 

They broke apart for air and rested their foreheads together, both panting. Matt regained his composure first. He moved his hand from where it had fallen to rest on Lance's shoulder to cup his chin. “Look, this would normally be the part where I invite you in, but…” He looked away at Lance's confused and disappointed face. 

 

“I just… I don't wanna screw this up by going too fast.” Lance nodded. “I totally understand.” He put his hand over top of Matt's and squeezed lightly. He sighed with relief and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on Lance's lips. Lance grinned at him. 

 

“I'm definitely not waiting three days or whatever to call you, though.” He bumped their noses together. Matt smiled back at him. “Good.” He turned his head to look at the door. “I should probably…” Lance followed his eyes and backed up a step, coughing into his hand. “Right, yeah.” 

 

“Well, goodnight, then.” Lance said with a wave before he headed back for the parking lot. “Good night.” Matt replied quietly, watching his retreating form for a moment before heading inside. 

 

Getting rid of all the sand and salt covering every inch of his skin had been his first priority, and by the time he was out of the shower he already had a message from Lance. 

 

It was the photo he'd taken of them on the beach, soaking wet and smiling. Lance had added the caption “:)” and nothing else. Matt fell asleep smiling. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied, chapter 6 will be the end.

The next few weeks were blisteringly hot, but Matt couldn't manage to be that upset about his car continually failing. Every time it did, he'd just text Lance and a few minutes later he'd show up with two slurpees and a wide smile. They spent a lot of afternoons talking, people watching, leaning up against each other on the sweltering curb or snuggled on a bench, sucking down their sugary drinks underneath the summer sun. 

 

One such afternoon found the pair sitting on a bench that was mercifully shaded by the corner of a building. Lance was resting his head on Matt's shoulder and their fingers were laced between them as they chatted. Lance was telling a story about a silly prank-gone-wrong he'd pulled on a stuffy co-worker and how he thought he was going to get formally reprimanded but luckily the guy thought it was funny. Lance had ended up taking him out to lunch just to be sure there were no hard feelings. Matt laughed and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “I shouldn't be jealous, right?” 

 

Lance sat up straight and fixed him with a cocky smile. “I don't know, I've never seen you jealous. Might be kinda hot.” He wiggled his eyebrows. Matt couldn't help but laugh. He leaned forward and kissed the goofy grin off of Lance's face. They broke apart and smiled at each other. “This is… nice.” Lance said, looking down at their joint hands and rubbing his thumb over Matt's wrist. 

 

Matt nodded in agreement. “Yeah, pretty soon I'm gonna have to come up with another excuse to see you all the time, though.” Lance looked at him curiously. “You getting a new car or something?” Matt sighed and looked over at his junker, still gently wafting smoke from the exposed engine. 

 

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure my mom is gonna guilt trip my dad into floating me some cash to get a slightly less shitty rust bucket as soon as he gets back this weekend.” He was very lucky that his parents could afford to help him, he knew that, but he still felt embarrassed at needing it. His discomfort was readily apparent to Lance, so he opted to change the subject. 

 

“Well I can think of boat loads of excuses for you to hang out with me.” He said with big grin. Matt laughed. “Oh yeah? Like what.” Lance tapped his chin with his index finger, pretending to be deeply in thought. “Come to my roommate’s dumb party with me on Friday.” Lance's eyes twinkled with mischief, but Matt's face fell. 

 

“I can't Friday, dad’s flying in that morning and I have family stuff.” He said, disappointed. Lance wasn't deterred. “Well he's gonna be gone Saturday. You could come over if you want. Zero pressure, I'm totally cool with the whole taking it slow thing, we could just play video games or watch movies or something.” 

 

Matt smiled sweetly at him and had to look away. “That sounds really great, actually.” Lance squeezed his hand. “Alright, I'll text you the details later, then.” They spent another hour sitting on the bench, talking and waiting for Matt's car to cool off enough to be driveable. 

 

..

 

If there was one thing Matthew Holt hated, it was Pluto. If there were two things, they were Pluto and neck ties. He was reconsidering the order as he frowned in front of the mirror. Shiro laughed and spun him around, straightening out the knotted mess before looping it correctly. He patted Matt's chest where the Windsor knot now sat and smiled at him. He grumbled out an embarrassed thanks and dragged a comb through his unruly hair. 

 

It wasn't his stupid engagement dinner, he didn't know why he was so nervous. Their billions of family members from all over would be more than happy to ignore him and fawn over Katie all night, which suited him just fine. Luckily Shiro was going with him, he was practically family after all, so he would have some help avoiding all the busy bodies. 

 

Keith had conveniently “forgotten” that the party was this weekend and “had to work.” Shiro knew that Keith would rather set himself on fire than go to a fancy party surrounded by strangers, so he didn't push. 

 

They got to the restaurant about half an hour early to help Matt's parents set things up and seat their various incoming relatives. Shiro had unluckily been caught in the clutches of Aunt Isabella and was desperately looking for a way out. “It's a shame your little boyfriend couldn't make it tonight dear. Shows a real lack of commitment not coming to support little Pidgey with you. You're like a brother to her!” 

 

Shiro flushed, trying to keep his cool. “He just had to work is all, Aunt Bella, he got her a really nice gift.” He always dreaded this part of Holt family gatherings. “Well I'm sure it would have been nicer if he could have come given it in person. You know if you two are having trouble, Matty's still available and Colleen would be thrilled if you two finally,” Shiro loudly interjected. “Matt's actually been seeing someone lately!” He nearly shouted, pointing to Matt's bewildered face a few yards ahead. 

 

“Oh look, there he is now, why don't you go ask him all about it!” She followed his outstretched hand, and looked at Matt with her hands on her hips. “Matthew! I can't believe you didn't tell me you were seeing someone! I want all the details, young man, this instant.” Matt didn't even have a chance to give Shiro a side-eye of betrayal, he'd already leapt over the table and made his way to hide in the bathroom. 

 

Matt cleared his throat. “Well it's nothing serious, or anything. We've only been dating about a month, but he's…” At that exact moment, the door to the private party room opened with a flourish. “Ladies and gentlemen, the couple of the hour has arrived!” A very familiar voice called as Katie and Hunk walked in, smiling and waving. He couldn't see the familiar tall form eclipsed as it was by Hunk, but he would have bet money on that being Lance's voice. 

 

“He's what dear?” Aunt Isabella asked, pulling Matt's attention back to her. Matt swallowed hard. “Uhm. Really nice. I actually have something I need to go take care of really quickly, sorry.” He rushed out, quickly striding over to the happy bride and groom to be. They greeted him warmly as he and Lance stopped and stared at each other. Hunk and Katie looked at them like they had lost their minds as they both cracked up laughing at the same time. 

 

“Family stuff!” Lance wheezed out. “Roommate's party!” Matt replied. “I thought,” he interrupted himself laughing, “I thought you meant, like… like a house party. Like a kegger.” He clutched his sides. Lance perked up. “Yeah but family stuff? Is she your cousin or something?” Matt laughed even harder. “She's my sister!” Hunk put an arm around each of their shoulders and pushed all three of their heads together like a huddle. Katie squeezed her way in. 

 

“Ok fellas, we’re super confused and you’re kind of causing a scene, so why don't we use our big boy words and talk in complete sentences.” Matt took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. “Lance and I have been dating for like a month.” Hunk blinked in surprise and looked over at Lance, who nodded in agreement. “I had no idea he was Katie's brother.” 

 

Matt tried to hold down another snicker. “And I had no idea you guys were roommates.” Hunk looked at him blankly. “Aren't you supposed to be like a rocket scientist or something?” Matt smirked. “Rock scientist, actually. But they are space rocks, so close enough right?” He looked up at Lance who looked like he might cry from holding his laughter in. He mouthed the word “nice” and gave a thumbs up.

 

Hunk was not amused, however. “Clearly, it's not.” He deadpanned. “You've been to our apartment, Matt!” Hunk whispered harshly. “We introduced you guys like a year ago!” Pidge added. Matt furrowed his brows, trying to remember. Eventually it vaguely came back to him. “Ooh, that must have been the day I had to come pick Katie up because her alternator blew.” He looked at Hunk and glared. “Yeah that was the first time my little sister had ever stayed the night at a guy's house. I wasn't exactly on my A game.” 

 

Lance shrugged. “I was probably really gross, hadn't showered, sitting on the couch in a tank top and basketball shorts playing FIFA. The first time you and Pidge hooked up was right after Allura went back to England. That’s pretty much how I spent that whole summer.” Hunk sighed. “Look, it doesn't matter. Just, stop being weird for like 3 hours and we can all talk this out later.” They both nodded and Hunk finally let go of them. 

 

Lance grabbed Matt's hand and grinned at him. They achieved a pretty close approximation of normal humans. 

 

Shiro took that very moment to risk returning to the party, saw Lance and Matt talking to Katie and headed over there. “Wow Matt, I thought you said Lance couldn't make it tonight.” Katie blinked up at him and sighed. He didn't react as hysterically as the other two had once he was given all the details, but he did laugh and shake his head. “Matt, you have the weirdest luck.” 

 

He squeezed Lance's hand and looked at him with a smile. “You know, I really do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to make it obvious that only the family (and Hunk, as fiance) called Pidge some variation on "Pidge" and everyone else called her Katie, but I think I ended up just switching randomly at times lol.
> 
> Also, I did Allura dirty in this fic, I had way too many characters to juggle. Next time she'll get a much bigger role.


	6. Chapter 6

8 months flew by far faster than Matt felt it had any right to. He was sitting nervously in the front row next to Shiro, grinning up at Lance and Hunk who were already up at the altar along with the rest of the wedding party. Lance tossed him a wink and Matt couldn't help but blush as he rolled his eyes.

 

From the other side of Shiro, Keith started crying almost as soon as Katie began making her way down the aisle. To his credit, Shiro at least lasted until the vows. Matt's eyes prickled a bit watching his little sister walk back down the aisle a wedded woman, but he managed to keep it together. 

 

There wasn't a dry eye in the room after Lance's Best Man speech at the reception. 

 

There wasn't a dry throat all evening, either. The open bar took care of that. 

 

Hunk was only a little tipsy, but it was enough. He threw an arm around Lance's shoulders and leaned his head in. “Hey, Pidge and Matt… they're brother and sister.” He whispered conspiratorially. Laugh chuckled. “I know, buddy, we've been over that.” Hunk frowned at him. “No, listen. Since they're brother and sister, and I'm married to her…” Lance raised an eyebrow. “What?” 

 

Hunk facepalmed. “If you guys got married, too, we'd be brothers! Or like, brothers-in-law or whatever. But still.” Lance's cheeks burned bright red. He turned to look at Matt over on the other side of the room. Their eyes met and Matt’s face lit up with a brilliant smile before he went back to his conversation. 

 

“Yeah… I guess we would be, wouldn't we?” He muttered, mostly to himself. Hunk grinned. 

 

..

 

The six of them sat in a veritable pile of blankets and limbs on the floor, each having built up a decent buzz in the previous few hours as the newly minted Garrett-Holts regaled their friends of their honeymoon. 

 

“So, what did you dorks do while we were gone?” Pidge murmured sleepily from her spot splayed out over Hunk. “Oh, oh! Us first!” Lance called excitedly, jostling Matt, who'd been lying peacefully with his head on Lance's lap. “We burned Matt's old car.” He said, smugly. Matt laughed and sat up.

 

Shiro and Keith looked at each other, concerned, before turning back to Matt. “Uh, that's pretty illegal, guys.” Keith muttered out. Lance shook his head several times. “Nope. Matt used science. It was awesome.” Keith blinked at him. “They can still trace the car to its previous owner. You guys might be in trouble.” Shiro added, still worried. Lance grinned and elbowed Matt. “Tell 'em.” 

 

Matt cracked his knuckles and smirked. “Ok well, I snuck into the chemistry departm-,” Hunk hiccuped. “Sneaked.” He muttered. Matt glared. “Anyway, I SNUCK into the chemistry department’s storage lab and may have borrowed some HF to take care of all the identification numbers on the car.” Lance nodded enthusiastically. “He made wax gloves.” 

  
Pidge’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “Jesus, Matt, what is wrong with you? If you’re going to steal something ridiculously dangerous why would you not also steal the proper PPE?” Matt reared his head back, obviously offended. “Hey, if they were good enough for Marie Curie, they’re good enough for me!” He countered. 

 

“SHE DIED FROM RADIATION EXPOSURE!” She shouted back. Matt coughed. “I stand by what I did.” Lance took another swig of his drink. “Yeah! Me too! It was super cool and you’re just jealous!” He rested his head on Matt’s shoulder and slid down his arm. Matt patted his head with a fond smile. Pidge shook her head but decided to drop it. 

 

Keith piped in a few minutes later. “Why did you want to destroy the car? If it didn’t suck so bad you guys wouldn’t have gotten together.” Lance lifted his head up and smiled at Matt. Matt leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Nah, we still would have met at the wedding.” Everyone shrugged and nodded. 

 

Pidge raised an eyebrow at Lance. "So, petty theft and destruction of private property. Anything else?" Lance grinned at her. He looked up and Matt and fumbled with the ring in his pocket. "Nah, that's pretty much it." He said, looking at the floor with a deep blush. He waved a hand at them dismissively. 

 

Hunk shrugged and looked over at Keith. “So, what did you and Shiro do while we were gone?” Keith grinned and Shiro turned bright red. “Got matching tattoos.” 

 

END 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they all live happily ever after :3


End file.
